A major concern for generally immobile patients and like persons are medical conditions that form blood clots, such as, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and peripheral edema. Such patients and persons include those undergoing surgery, anesthesia, extended periods of bed rest, etc. These blood clotting conditions generally occur in the deep veins of the lower extremities and/or pelvis. These veins, such as the iliac, femoral, popliteal, and tibial return deoxygenated blood to the heart. For example, when blood circulation in these veins is retarded due to illness, injury, or inactivity, there is a tendency for blood to accumulate or pool. A static pool of blood may lead to the formation of a blood clot, which can interfere with cardiovascular circulation. Most seriously, a fragment of the blood clot can break loose and migrate. A pulmonary embolus can form from the fragment potentially blocking a main pulmonary artery, which may be life threatening. The current invention can also be applied to the treatment of other conditions, such as lymphedema.
Conventional vascular compression systems include a compression garment fluidly connected to a controller for cyclically inflating the compression garment. The cyclical inflation of the compression garment enhances blood circulation and decreases the likelihood of DVT. A system of conduits connects the compression garment to the controller. Newer vascular compression garments have portable controllers that are much smaller and even mountable on the compression garment so that the patient may move about freely without having to first remove the compression garment or disconnect the compression garment from a controller. These new compression garments may be worn when a patient is stationary or ambulatory and enhance patient compliance because of convenience of use.
Active compression garments for applying intermittent compression therapy to a body part (e.g., a limb such as a leg) have many applications, including DVT prophylaxis, edema prevention, and aiding in wound healing. The performance of such compression garments is sensitive to the initial fit or tightness of the garment, the ability of the garment to retain its fit and tightness, and the ability of the inflatable bladders to retain their original position around the body part. This can be very difficult when the compression garments are used during and after ambulation, such as walking, sitting, standing, and rolling over. The garments tend to slide down the body part causing misalignment of inflatable bladders with corresponding body parts, which may result in ineffective compression therapy and/or discomfort. The present invention is directed to facilitating application of the garment to a body part to obtain a desired fit to improve applied compression therapy.